Spending abroad falls as pound weakens

LONDON (Reuters) - A weaker currency and rising household bills kept more Britons at home this spring, while those that ventured abroad kept to tighter budgets.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show the number of visits abroad by UK residents fell by 1 percent to 17.7 million in the three months to May when compared with the previous three months.

Spending while abroad fell even more, by 3 percent to 9.1 billion pounds, according to the seasonally-adjusted figures.

Foreigners, meanwhile, appear to be taking advantage of the weaker pound. Despite a global economic slowdown, there was no slippage in the number of overseas residents visiting Britain and those that did spent more.

The combination of more foreigners coming to the UK for shopping bargains and more Britons staying at home may go some way to explaining the surprising strength in UK retail sales growth.

If official figures are to be believed, retail sales have grown robustly since the start of the year and rose in May at their fastest monthly rate since records began in 1986.

The pound fell 12 percent in trade-weighted terms between last August and this April. Against the euro, sterling's losses have been even greater, explaining the particularly strong rise in the number of visitors to the UK from Europe.